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Bourbon helps

Drinking a makers and coke. Having some father daughter issues...those with a teenage daughter will understand...so the smooth makers helps

ED: the 22-19 prediction

was the MSU game.

Brian being sneaky?

I actually sort of think Brain has been playing games a bit with his predictions this year. He self admittedly hates making predictions but he's now locked into the convention. I think he's being somewhat tounge in cheek sometimes.

This prediction is like the exact polar opposite of last years 67-65 score. We win by 2 still but in the lowest possible score (or nearly so). Earlier in the year he had a game prediction of 22-19 (SDSU?). Those numbers are both incredibly rare on their own, let alone together. It's almost as if he was subtly saying "don't take this too seriously."

B1G vs NC Strategy

I think the OP is making the point that you can have different game/season strategies if you have a B1G focus vs. NC focus. Bo used to do this all the time (or at least was accused of it).

For instance, a B1G game late in the season...Bo might play for a tie rather than gamble late knowing that a tie didn't hurt him much in the conference race.  However, a tie DID hurt in the polls and, therefore, the NC hunt.

Since we don't have ties anymore, i think the new "confernce focus" strategy could be a late season game in which your team already has a B1G Champ. birth sewn up, and you play all your scrubs to save them....thus enhancing your conference championship hopes (in theory) but hurting your NC hopes.

Ergo, i understand the point...in thoery. However, that point seems sort of silly in this day and age. I think everyone and anyone is trying to win each and every game with maximum effort. Nobody is "giving away" games anymore or holding too much back.

Second chance? Not yet

Perhaps someday Rose will earn a second chance...but you really have to earn that. Mike Vick paid his dues, has been contrite, and (so far) done all the right things. Not sure that i personally forgive him but the point is that you have to earn your second chances...have to seem worthy of being forgiven...and usually that requires the perspective of time and change of actions.

I'm with the OP. I'm done with Rose....at least for now.

Just a few off the top of my head

1. 1984: Tigers Win World Series - Gibby, baby

2. 1991: "The Catch" - Desmond vs. ND - sat in row 1 right in that corner

3. 1987/88: Hall of Fame Bowl - Jamie Morris Last Gave

4. 1997: UM-ND Football - National Championship Season - all the action in my endzone

5. 1999: Augusta National - Awe inspiring (unfortuately only a practice round, but still)

6. 1985: UM beats OSU - lights fading, Kolesar 4th quarter bomb, i was a student

7. 2007?: Tigers at Braves - my son's first live ball game, verlander unhittable

8. 1978: Red Wings vs. Canadians Playoffs - old Olympia, lost badly, met Gordie Howe

9. 2007: Patriots in Miami - Brady's perfect half, 11-11 with 5 TDs, perfect passer rating, year he threw for 50+ and went 18-1.

Classmate

I was a junior too. I still feel like this was one of Bo's best teams. We were absolutely rolling with JH and the boys until Mr. Fogey came to town on a gray, rainy day late in the season.

My memory from that New Year's day was that ASU's D-Line just dominated. Also, this chant from our fans:

"A-S-U...A-S-Who? A-S-Holes!"

The upside of the love fest

You are right about the 180, and it is very annoying. But I'm at the point where I'm past it and I'm trying to just roll with it. Regardless of the motivation or the realities versus perception, to the outside world (read: recruits) it only helps to be getting all this positive press.

A few points of interest

You really can't (and shouldn't) read too much into the player comments...but was interesting to hear the focus on "intensity" and the players being excited for practice "which is a first."

Eh, what else are they supposed to say...

 

And 2 pretty highly touted incoming freshmen

Just sayin'...

Teams Sucking

I had that same thought - everyone but us "sucking" right now.  But you never know by 2013. At times in the recent past, OSU / MSU / MINN /WISC have all been good (at points).

Also, i wonder if the lure of the Big Ten brand and the TV exposure (from the BTN) means that over time all 6 schools will be getting better recruits, etc. and have a better platform to succeed.

 

What about UNC?

I always sort of got the feeling that the Fab 5 needed to be hated or at least feared...wanted that motivation.  They clearly like to play "angry" as if the whole world was against them. I think to a degree, that mindset of 18 year old Jalen leads to the Uncle Tom stuff.  It was a way to provide motivation.

Right but

my point there was that part of the interesting story of the Fab 5 was that they were actually quite inconsistent on the court (as some pointed out) and despite their swagger, they needed the "nobodies" to save them on a few notable, high profile moments.

Not a huge criticism, just a minor point that i always found interesting.

i'm too old

I'm old enough to remember when they added the current rule for getting two foul shots when you hit 10 team fouls (used to continue to be 1 and 1 ad infinitum). Same goes for the shot clock which was basically added for the same reason but on the different end of the spectrum - to make games more competitive at the end.

You think it's bad now with all the fouling, imagine when a team would go into a "4 corners offense" when they got up by about 5 or 6 with 10 minutes left (ahem, Dean Smith).

Minor comment on the documentary

I graduated from Undergrad at UM in 1989 so i am a peer of Rice, Robinson, et al. But i do remember the Fab 5 and like most from that period, am probably "conflicted" (as Brian predicted ahead of time).  Mostly, I'm a little upset they didn't really win any championships (no BT's, no National Champs) and that pain still lingers.

I won't go into all the back and forth, i think that's been well debated in all the comments today. However, one minor point that i do think the doc didn't quite play up enough was the "supporting cast." They did make the point of people being upset about losing their job to freshmen, etc., but there were a few notable times when the supporting cast saved their asses on the court, and they didn't relly mention that. IIRC, Voskul played a huge role down the stretch in beating Cincy in the first Final Four and Pelinka made many clutch threes (and was on the court during Web's unfortunate TO call).

Yes but

I partied in college and did my fair share of underage drinking. But i wasn't on the Football Team representing my University, my program and jeopardizing my future as a football player.

Go Blue Flu

Cough, cough. I'm feeling a little sick today, boss. I think i'll cut out early.

FREEP

Freep sports writer: "hey truth and fairness, get the f*#% out of my news story."

One game for all the marbles

I can go with that. I definitely think that JH is the guy you'd want for that one game. Dude was just a winner and didn't make a lot of mistakes. Griese just gives me some nice memories of beating OSU, but overall like you, JH would still be my #1.

Pretty Close

This jives closely with my UM generation (born in 67', first game in 75')...and therefore, your list is pretty mich right on mine.

The only think i might change is QB. I think JH would be on my "All Team" list...but  strong honorable mention would go to Brian Griese in terms of "all time favorites." I realize that he didn't have a "full" career, but he had a winning hand in the OSU game in three straight magical years (95', 96', 97').  Most folks only remember the 97 campaign.

 

Trip's Rule

If i recall, Bo made a new rule after Welborne tore up his knee by crashing into the visiting team's band on the sideline. For years, Bo would now allow any visiting bands to sit directly on the field. Do they still do that?

Started at opening tip

Started with Michelob Ultra (since I'm old). Will switch to Woodford Reserve Bourbon tonight. Will definitely tip one up for B-line and the boys.
<br>
<br>GO BLUE!

Morgan

6-8 comes from Mgoblue.com (as good a source as any, although you never know). My point is that at the moment, there is nobody very reliable that can spell Morgan unless Blake really develops in the future. ideally, we'd have someone with more size that can rotate in for more minutes...not displace Morgan, just compliment him and provide an option for when we play "the bigs" or when Jordan gets in foul trouble.

Missing the point

I think the OP is right about the notion of JB's offense, but it misses the point of "getting bigger." The need is not to add another big man on the floor, it's simply to make the main "big man" bigger. Morgan is only 6-8 and playing the "center." Ideally, we'd have a 6-10 ish guy in that spot (or sharing time)...as long as they can step out and shoot (a tough find).

Big Ten Competition

As someone who does not follow Softball closely (other than our gals), which teams are the main competition in the Big Ten? (or i guess i'm now supposed to say "B1G")

Does Lewan count?

I think Lewan is going to have a monster year. Not sure if that counts as "blowing up" since he had a pretty good 2010.

Second choice would be Hopkins who seems very well suited for the new offensive style.

agree...ish

I too was not originally happy but agree that he's said and done everything well so far. My only ammendment would be to put me in the "Pro-Hoke Offseason" camp. Still have no idea if he can actually "coach" yet.

Not Adapting on Defense

I'll admit I was too lazy to read through all 125 comments (hard to find any meaningful posts with less than 100 these days!)...so forgive me if someone else already made this point.

RR's problem with "not adapting" was not on offense really. As Brian notes, the skill levels were cratered and he adapted as best as made sense while still moving forward with the "transition."

RR's big problem was the regression of the D and his lack of ability to "adapt" to his players there. He had plenty of talent on that side of the ball in 2008 but the scheme was incoherent and seemed to not use the skill appropriately or in the correct positions (see Purdue game, 2008).

The Plan A Myth

We need to stop thinking of this job search in terms of the order in which candidates were interviewed. I've conducted numerous job searches and I rarely if ever interview only one candidate. Brandon, as a typical CEO type, would most assuredly not feel comfortable without "interviewing" numerous candidates and then making his decision. I take him at his word that he spoke with people in all the major conferences, then deliberated and decided to offer to Hoke.

Granted, College Football is not the board room, so i'm not sure i agree with this strategy...but i'm getting tired of people thinking he went from Harbaugh, to Miles to Hoke thus making Hoke his third choice. Sounds to me like Harbaugh and Miles were never really "choices" to him (either due to not being available - JH or not being desirable in his mind - LM).

Hunwick punch

Anyone have a link to some video from that moment last night?
<br>
<br>Just awesome

Bolivian

Our football program is currently stopping over on the way to Bolivian (as Mike Tyson used to say)

Hypocritical

This entire line of thinking is just so idiotic and exposes some obvious biases. This is the same crowd that has made a big deal of how MSU has "taken over the state" because UM's roster is from everywhere else. Can't have it both ways.

422

422...but hoping for a lot more!

Thinking Deep First?

Does anyone think that sometimes Denard/Tate are choosing (or have been taught to) look for the deeper stuff first? I wouldn't be surprised if on this particular play, Denard is actually waiting just a bit for the deeper sideline route to get open and then, decides to bail shorter to Junior (hence the slight pause - which as pointed out above is very, very slight).

In rewatching the game with sound (instead of live in the noisy bar i was in) I heard Griese (TV color commentator) mention that on several plays he thought our QBs were being a bit "greedy" in not taking the easy, open short route for an easy first down.

Makes me think we are teaching our QBs to prioritize the deep route as a first optiion, then check down if not open.

Most Arch Schools

This is probably true of 90% of architecture programs out there.  The main thinking is (or at least used to be) that college is for nurturing the creative juices while the early professional career is for learning the actual real world pragmattics...which is why the first 3 years of actual professional practice in architecture is typically called an "internship."

 

As alluded to in the story, I think we are starting to see that type of educational framework begin to change...and probably is a good thing.

 

As a 1989 UM grad with an undergraduate degree in architecture, this story makes me proud and certainly makes me more "marketable" in my field (albeit probably only to a degree).

 

As a lifelong UM football fan...well...that's really for another post, isn't it!

had something to do with

a crowned field

Small silver lining...actual football content.

Will Hagerup seems to be ironing things out. I thought he punted very, very well (47 yd avg.?). Also, we made one FG...short, yes i know and yes I know we had a block FG too but still.

Time to move on. I'm done with all the hand wringing.

possible?

"passes...to himself"

Admiti it...when you first read this there was a part of your brain that said "hey, could he actually do that? I think maybe he could"

Dilithium, baby

exactly

I'm certainly no defensive expert...but the schematic problem here seems obvious when you look at the third pic in the pic pages series above. At that snap shot, i think there are 2 fundamental flaws:

1. We have 4 four guys on the far half of the field where only one reciever is going out which leaves 3 on the other side covering 3 receivers.

2. Our deep safeties are REALLY deep...at that point, 7 yards beyond the sticks.

Seems like a few minor adjustments could make this pass way more difficult to complete. With a 4-man rush, maybe safeties don't need to be quite as deep (even one step would help) and seems like Floyd (or someone) should have slighly cheated over pre-snap to account for the imbalance.

Agree...but only if things stay as they are

I agree with the overall premise that our defense is probably a 30-35 point defense regardless of who we play...there is just a limit of the amount of time you have and points you can score if you are forced to produce using long drives.

But, that assumes that things stay relatively the same.  I think the formula is very different if we start turning the ball over (possible) or if Denard goes down for an extended period of time (also quite possible).

7-6 (bowl win)

7-6

Fragility

I wouldn't be surprised if DG is getting a lot of reps in a "just in case" mode. Remember, Tate was fairly dinged up for most of last year (Indiana and on). If Tate goes down early, that QB depth suddenly looks a little frightening and DG would be critical.

Navarre's Rose Bowl

Navarre never played UCLA in the Rose Bowl...at least not in the Rose Bowl GAME.  Navarre's Rose Bowl Game was against USC on 1/1/2004.

However, Navarre did play a September game against UCLA in the Rose Bowl STADIUM (a loss).

False Choice

I don't think it's an EITHER OR choice in terms of what's made the rivalry special. To a large degree, it's BOTH. Traditionally this game is at the end...and BECAUSE it's at the end it plays a very large role in determining the Big Ten's outcome.

In most year's this game AT THE END will be a huge decider of the BT Championship. It's a great rivalry because 9 times out of 10, one or other or both teams absolutley MUST win this game to close out their regular season. Even in recent years when OSU had the upper hand, UM had a chance to ruin their season.

We definitly cannot keep all aspects of this rivalry the same with the new divisional aparatus.  However, in my opinion, the best opportunities arise in a split-division format with a traditional cross rivalry at the end.  In a few cases that will mean playing twice in a row...so be it. In those weird years you'll still have the opportunity to end the season AND determine the BT Champion. In all the other years, you still get a season ender (of sorts) that is still a requisite win to take the championship (albeit with a game to follow). 

If "The Game" is mid season, there is still way too much that can happen down the road. By definition, the game will only determine someone's fate AFTER THE FACT in hindsight.

1 second left

...and what if there isn't a chip and some random clock operator in a booth stops the clock 1 second too early and UM loses a heartbreaker on the last play of the game (ahem...Sparty). That cuts both ways.

 

[EDIT]...beat me to it above

When Technology Stops Working

I don't understand this line of thinking. Why couldn't you play one half with the technoogy and one with out? So what?  This sort of thing happens all the time in sports. The shot clock stops working in a basketball game...one team loses communication with the booth so both teams have to stop using the headsets. In fact, i can remember one particular Brown Jug game in the lost season of 2005 when late in the 4th quarter the game clock stopped working. They didn't stop playing, they simply had the refs keep the time on the field.

Voila

...not to be confused with Viola...which is a stringed instrument. 

 

BTW, in French voila roughly translates to "there it is" (yeesh, am i bored today or what)

Midway

also had a young Tom Selick...very briefly, one line i think

Beyond the number

How about something as simple as this: Instead of focussing on the 12 (or 13 or 14, etc.) simply have a concept of Big Ten +

 

The "plus" implies that we are more than 10 regardless of how much plus we are. Could also be expanded from a marketing perspective to be about what a Plus the conference is....we are academics plus sports plus social change plus people, etc. (instead of big life, big stage, big ten).

 

Graphically, you could simply take the existing logo and make the capital "T" a lower case "t" and extend the top of the "t" to make a pseudo plus in the middle of the logo (read Big Ten words, see the plus in the middle)

I work in Downtown - been to many a Braves game

Just to be clear...MARTA does not actually go directly to the ball park. The closest MARTA stop is many, many blocks away and is quite a hike (about a 1 mile walk). But, many of the downtown hotels/bars have shuttles that will drop you off and pick you up right at the stadium gate -worth looking in to.

 

There are several great hotels right around the CNN entertainment area that are very nice with lots of bars, restaurants, entertainment right there (right next to the Georgia Dome).  In particular, the Omni is very nice and very convenient.  This area is adjacent to Centennial Olympic Park and the Georgia Aquarium - a must see for your kids, trust me (my kids have been like 10 times).

 

Also, just to contradict someone above, there are tons of bars and restaurants in Midtown and around CNN that are open way past 11 pm.  Many now consider Midtown to be THE clubbing spot in Atlanta. Of course, if you are with your family that might not matter.

 

And to echo everyone else...DO NOT stay right next to Turner field. There is one crappy hotel there and the rest is all single family neighborhoods (not nice) - think Tiger Stadium (the old Tiger Stadium).